Thursday, October 31, 2013

At the age of twenty, Kanze Zenjiro's bloody footprints mark the bodies of those who stood in his way to protect the throne of Nihon. Now, the tyrannical Iberian Empire is bent on destroying his kingdom, and they send their steam-powered giants and iron spiders against him.

Zen embarks on a quest that takes him on the most dangerous journey of his life. To succeed, Zen must live up to his nickname, the Dragonfly Warrior, and kill all his enemies with only a sword and a pair of six-guns. He is called upon to somehow survive a test of faith and loyalty in a world so cruel and merciless, it borders on madness.

Book Information: Dragonfly Warrior is a steampunk adventure like no other. It's a dynamic mix of Asian and European mythology, the Wild West, martial arts, traditional fantasy, and high powered steam action that will keep you turning the pages.

Dragonfly Warrior is the first book of The Mechanica Wars, and will debut on January 6, 2014.

Author Bio: After doing some freelance writing and editing for more than a dozen years, Jay decided to stop procrastinating and pursue his dream of being a novelist. He's been blogging for over eight years, and even had a comedy podcast syndicated all over the internet. All of that was fun, but all the steampunk-inspired stories in his head just wouldn't leave him alone. Jay spends his days working in medical sales, but he can be found toiling over his laptop late at night when all is quiet.

Hallowe'en Blog Hop - Trick or Treat (giveaway) Sponsored by Francine Howarth at Romancing The Blog. The objective, leave a comment if you want a “TREAT” which will be An Advanced Review Copy (ARC) of ESCALATION.

Happy Halloween Haunting: Brought to you by Debise Covey at Write … Edit … Publish. The objective, WRITE a story, fiction or non-fiction, a poem, find some scary photos -- (you could write your story in pics!) OR any form you like -- your choice!

Scary Story: I was to finish my book by today. Almost there. But this week sucked the time out of me like a Dementor sucking the soul out of a prisoner of Azkaban. Scary!. Spooky! Terrifying! But I’m shutting everything down this weekend and will finish!
Weekend Follies: I love this video. Classic! Enjoy!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

I need to keep moving on ESCALTAION and the MS is moving right along! So I'll keep today's post short and sweet.

NaNo: As crazy as this sounds, as I'm trying to wrap up ESCALATION, I'm going to join NaNo for November and write a book I have outlined three years ago.

This is a psychological thriller ala Stephen King from his early days. But forget these full length novels. This one will be a 175 page novella and I am not going to surpass that page number no matter what. But rest assured, this story is going to be real cool and very scary. And creepy.

Realm's Faire Stockade: Okay, this is a short post. And you took the time to stop by. So I'll include a pic of me in stockades. This is in preparation for Gwen Gardner's Realm's Faire Stockade, for better or worse. Why am I smiling? Can somebody please get me a glass of grog? Make it three. I think I'm going to need them. Oktoberfest isn't over yet.

What To Watch: 'The Day of The Doctor' is the 50th anniversary special of the British sci-fi television program Doctor Who. On Saturday, November 23, 2013, ‘The Day of The Doctor’ will be simulcast on television in over 75 countries including BBC America in the U.S., BBC One in the UK, and Space Channel in Canada. It will also be screened in cinemas in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Germany, and Russia.

Doctor Who fans all over the world are coming together on Saturday November 23rd to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the show and watch the special episode ‘The Day of The Doctor.’
In addition to the Saturday screenings, there will be a special screening event Monday, November 25, 2013 showing The Day of The Doctor in over 300 theaters across the U.S.
'The Day of The Doctor' will also be available online on Sunday, November 24, 2013.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Celebrate The Small Things: I'm thankful for my blogging pals! This was a very good week. After taking off the previous week to write, I bounced back strong with some awesome guests. Captain Ninja Alex, Mary Pax, and Pk Hrezo. Thanks all for stopping by!

Weekend Follies: As soon as I opened and read Alex's attachment on Teleporting, I knew exactly what I wanted to post for the Weekend Follies. Problem was, Alex sent me his post a month or so ago and I had to wait all this time to post it.

So here it is. Once again, I revert to one of the greatest genius minds of our time: Mel Brooks and his cult-classic movie Spaceballs.
Take it away Mel and spoof teleporting as only you can ...

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Thanks everyone for stopping by for earlier this week. And thanks Alex for the awesome post on teleportation! A truly fascinating subject and one that inspires countless Sci-fi stories and episodes. Today I want to give way to Mary Pax and Pk Herzog, a couple of amazing writers that most of us know.

The Galactic Neighborhood: Comments about space and the universe often say things like how vast, empty, and lonely it is. The Milky Way doesn’t travel the universe alone, however. We have several galactic buddies, BFF’s, that travel with us.

The closest galaxies are the Magellan Clouds [can only be seen in the Southern Hemisphere]. Both are smaller and have partially merged, if not wholly merged, with our galaxy.

The closest spiral galaxy, like our own Mil ky Way, is Andromeda [M33]. A little over 2 million light years away [a light year is roughly 6 trillion miles, so the distance is 2 million x 6 trillion]. It’s blue-shifted in telescopes, which means we are traveling toward each other. [Most galaxies are red shifted, which means they’re moving away from us.] It is thought that we will eventually merge into one mega galaxy and some astronomers believe the merging has already begun. Most think the merging will not be a catastrophe, because star systems are fairly far apart in both galaxies.

Andromeda is one of my favorite things to look at in my telescope. It has two companions which are smaller, similar to our Magellan Clouds. Andromeda is also visible by eye.

There are several galaxies around the Big Dipper that are part of our galactic family, too. The Pinwheel [M101] and Whirlpool [M51]. Both had supernovae go off two years ago that were as bright in the telescopes as a star in our own galaxy. At 23 million and 35 million light years away, that’s amazingly bright.

I enjoy looking at both of these galaxies in my telescope as well.

We’re not as alone as we think.

Some truths are better left unfound.

For two years Craze’s dear friend, Lepsi, has been missing. The murmurings of a haunted spaceship might be a message and may mean his old pal isn’t dead. The possibility spurs Craze and Captain Talos to travel to uncharted worlds, searching. Out there, in an unfamiliar region of the galaxy beyond the Backworlds, they stumble upon a terrible truth.

Meanwhile, Rainly remains on Pardeep Station as acting planetlord, dealing with the discovery of her lover’s dark and brutal past. Alone and questioning her judgment, her introspection unlocks more than heartache. Latent protocols in her cybernetics activate, forcing her to face a sinister secret of her own.

In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendents to survive in a harsh universe. This is the fourth book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure.

M. Pax-- Inspiring the words she writes, she spends her summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where she lives with the Husband Unit and two demanding cats. She writes science fiction and fantasy mostly.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

W4WS: Hi everyone, hope you all had a great weekend! This month for Writers4Writers (W4WS) we have Alex J. Cavanaugh and Isis Rushdan as the participants. So take a few moments, stop by their Web sites, and copy and paste those Tweets and help them spread the good word!

Or can also go to #W4WS on Twitter and Retweet something. You can do this once or all week long as much as you feel inspired.
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But wait, that’s not all. Click the W4WS Facebook Page and then share their links with your Facebook friends and writers groups.

How W4WS works

Remember How This Works: The good people of Blogdom will promote the author’s book to their Twitter followers or Facebook friends, that is, to incredibly large new audiences the author could not reach on their own. Simple. Easy. Powerful.

Speaking Of Alex: he is a guest blogger here today to help promote his new release and concluding book to his trilogy CassaStar. The topic: Teleporting. Take it away Alex …

Beam Me Up Scotty! Those famous words, spoken almost fifty years ago, brought the idea of teleportation to the general public. What if we could actually teleport to another place or time?

The concept wasn’t new though. Science fiction literature had explored the idea for years. Technically, you could go back to stories like Aladdin, as the Djinns were able to transport themselves instantaneously from one place to another. While it was attributed to their magical abilities, it was in fact a form of teleportation.

I asked my local library to order Alex's books.

The term itself didn’t appear until 1931. Writer Charles Fort used it to describe unusual and unexplained disappearances. He created the word by joining the Greek prefix tele- (distant) and the Latin verb portare (to carry.)

Many science fiction authors used teleportation in their books. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series, written a hundred years ago, showed John Carter arriving on Mars via teleportation. Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov also used it in their stories and books. It’s also appeared in novels by Michael Crichton, Anne McCaffrey, CS Lewis, and Larry Niven.

The concept has also appeared in numerous films and television shows - Star Trek, Stargate, Thor, Back to the Future, Tron, Looper, Doctor Who, The Prestige, The Fly, and the new show, The Tomorrow People. We are fascinated by the concept of instantaneous travel.

Is it possible though? The website Sci-Fi Science – The True Science Behind Science Fiction http://www.scifiscience.co.uk/ explores the possibilities. Assuming man is made of carbon (although we are made of up many atoms), we’d need to know the coordinates of every atom in relation to time and how they’re located with other atoms at that time. The amount of information required just to teleport one type of atom would be immense. Recently scientists in Zurich were able to teleport information across a computer chip, but we are still a long way away from teleporting a person.

That doesn’t stop us from dreaming though! In my series, the Cassans can teleport their spaceships by using a device that is fueled by several unique compounds. The trigger comes from the mental powers of the Cassan race, as they use those powers to activate the device and teleport their ship. My main character, Byron, has the rare gift of being able to pour his own mental energy into the device and power it even when it’s been drained of energy. This unique ability comes into play numerous times in my series.

Whether possible or not, we’ll keep writing stories about teleportation while as scientists try to make it a reality. Perhaps one day we’ll get to experience it. I know it will make my commute to work a lot more pleasant!

Thank you Alex for your awesome post! And while you’re stopping by Alex’s Web Site for W4WS, check out all the relevant info regarding the author and CassaStorm.

What To Watch: There are a couple real cool shows definitely watching. Much more interesting than most of the mindless nonsense on TV these days:

How To Build A Planet: Join host Richard Hammond on the ultimate engineering project. How to Build a Planet uses stunning interactive CGI to reveal step-by-step how a world is put together. With a little help from the world's top scientists and engineers, Hammond will build the Earth and Solar System piece by piece. CLICK HERE for times and channels.

The Incredible Bionic Man: Meet the Bionic Man: a talking, breathing, walking man, made of the best prosthetic body parts and robotic technology available.
CLICK HERE to view the whole episode.

Advanced Review Copy (ARC): If anyone would like to read and ARC of Escalation, please email me at Stephen.tremp@yahoo.com and I’ll at the beginning of November I’ll send you a code to download a copy for free. I’m up to 300 pages edited or in the editing stage for ESCALATION. I really think I can finish this be October 31st. Such a push! I’m almost there. Check out the synopsis by clicking the ESCALATION tab at the top of the Home Page.

Question: Would you teleport if the technology was available today? Are you going to watch How To Build A Planet? Do you request libraries to carry friend's books? Are you interested in reading an ARC of Escalation?

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Hi everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend! I'm going to take a couple days off to focus on writing another epic battle scene for ESCALATION. There are a few battles like this in the book, which will only make it that much more awesome!

This has been tricky trying to balance family, work, life, and writing. Been driving me a bit crazy to be honest (woob woob woob ... bad Curly imitation). I really need to wrap this scene up. I need a beer. Wish me luck and see you in a few days!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Hi everyone. A big round of thanks for help, comments, and words of encouragement with my cover reveal this week.

On my mid-week post I blogged about how I came up with the concept art. Today, I thought I'd share what I did on Facebook in the days leading up to the release. This was a spontaneous fun way to let people know the cover reveal was coming, and have a little fun with it.

Great Scott! Only five days until the cover release of ESCALATION!!! Marty, set the flux capacitor to 1.21 gigawatts. We're going to the future to get a sneak peak!

ESCALATION Cover Reveal in just five days! Safe for the whole family. Except the wormholes.

That's right Sherman. Only four days left until the cover reveal for ESCALATION. Fortunately, we have the WABAC machine and can go into the future for a sneak peak!

Hey Babe, forget about the Most Interesting Man In The World. I can take you places he can't. Like four days into the future with my TARDIS to get a sneak peak of Stephen Tremp's cover reveal for ESCALATION.

Really, Steve? I promote your first two books to important and interesting people around the world. And you won't give me a sneak peak of the cover art for ESCALATION? Really?

Let's pass this budget. We don't want to miss the cover reveal of ESCALATION only three days away!

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ESCALATION Cover Release only three days away? I think we'll wait for the movie so we can spoof it on Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

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Dudes and Dudettes. We're off to get a sneak peak at the Escalation Cover Release three days from now. Excellent!!!

We may have no control over which world we end up in, but at least we got to see a sneak Preview of the cover art for ESCALATION!!!

I hear something ... a transmission from outer space ... it says ... Escalation Cover Release in just two more days!!!

Happy early Christmas. Its a sneak peak at the ESCALATION cover reveal only two days away.

Come Mini Me. We're off to get an evil sneak peak of ESCALATION due out tomorrow!

Don't worry, sir. We'll get a sneak peak at ESCALATION the old fashioned way. We'll break in and steal it.

Great! NASA spends all this money to get a sneak peak at ESCALATION Cover Reveal, and now the International Space Station is ruined and I'm floating aimlessly in space. George Clooney, where the heck are you?

Question: There has been talk around Blogdom regarding Cover Reveals and if they are effective any more, the concern being promo overload.

Have to admit, it has me thinking. I will help with Cover reveals through the rest of the year. Then in 2014 I will focus on more science and Sci-fi related posts. I have been getting away from my roots and trying to get back.

What are your thoughts on Cover Reveals as there sure are a lot (myself included) these days.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Escalation Inspiration: I wanted to show the inspiration for the cover art for Escalation. After weeks of frustration I came across this Dr. Who picture on Google Images and knew immediately this was my template. And I wanted something to show a parallel dimension and people trying to cross over.

So I went to Shutterstock.com and found the blonde woman with her hands touching what appeared to be an invisible barrier (see the ripples). And she looks like Susan, Chase’s soul mate. And the guy is about the closest to Chase I could find. Then there is the nuclear blast. And finally the background which is the globe with major cities being connected by arched trails of light.

All in all there are four images purchased from Shutterstock that are cut and pasted together, along with an image of the buildings inside the wormhole I took (it also appears in the Opening cover art) Total: five images to make one.
Thanks: to everyone who helped and participated and commented on my Cover Reveal! You're all awesome!!!

The Norse Gods Blogfest: Brought to you by Siv Ottem and Alex J. Cavanaugh in celebration of Siv’s new book ‘Secrets of the Ash Tree’ Together they have decided to throw a big book release beginning October 9th, which just happens to be Siv’s birthday. Happy Birthday Siv!

Instead of naming my favorite Norse God (Thor of course. Hey, I like to swing my mighty hammer!) I thought I would do something different and list the moons in our solar system (all belonging to Saturn) named after Norse gods. Snarky comments are my own:

Ymir: Norse progenitor of giants and humans. The gods killed him for producing evil giants and used his body to create heaven and earth. In death, his body created dwarves (so that’s where dwarves came from)

Thrym: King of the frost giants in Norse mythology, his name means "uproar." He rules Jotunheim (except for his mother-in-law).

Skadi: Another frost Giantess, she was the Norse personification of winter. To appease her for her father's murder, the gods allowed her to choose one of them for a husband, but only by looking at their feet (so she grabbed the one with the biggest feet … rim shot please boom boom cchhh...)

Mundilfari: A Norse Giant who angered the gods by naming his beautiful children Mani (moon) and Sol (sun); the children were then forced to guide the chariots of their namesakes (who refused and were later found playing video games)

Suttung: A Norse Giant who stole the mead of poetry from the dwarves (what up with Norse Gods and dwarves???) that made it from Kvasir's blood, and hid it in a mountain. Odin heard his boasting and managed to get it all for himself (Ugh! Good wine mixed with dwarves and bad poetry. No wonder Odin’s demeanor was terrifying and grim).Reference

Did You Know: Not all the moons in our solar system are named after Greek and Roman deities. Some were named after for Gallic (Gaul, or ancient France), Norse, and Inuit (Eskimo) giants as well as characters in Shakesperean plays.

Fun Fact: The days of the week actually have a Norse god origin:

• Sunday: Sun's Day. The Sun gave people light and warmth every day. They decided to name the first (or last) day of the week after the Sun.

• Monday: Moon's Day. The Moon was thought to be very important in the lives of people and their crops.

• Tuesday: Tiw's Day. Tiw, or Tyr, was a Norse god known for his sense of justice.
• Wednesday: Woden's Day. Woden, or Odin, was a Norse god who was one of the most powerful of them all.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Here it is! The cover release for ESCALATION. My nephew, Jeremy Tremp who also did the cover art for Breakthrough and Opening, put this awesome cover together. Thanks Jeremy. I couldn’t be happier.

And thanks to everyone helping this week with the cover art. You’re all awesome!

Escalation Synopsis:

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones” - Albert Einstein

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My Original Concept Art

In Escalation, the final installment to Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Trilogy, a seemingly innocent discovery in Einstein-Rosen Bridges, or wormholes, becomes a Pandora’s Box—opening doors to other unexpected and unpredictable realities such as parallel universes, time/space travel, and an evil hitchhiker from another dimension.

Chase Manhattan has survived attempts on his life from numerous sources in his effort to destroy the technology. But he is far from safe. Now Chase and his comrades must not only break world renowned physicist Professor Nicholas Fischer out of prison a second time, but also smuggle him across hostile borders in Europe and the Middle East to prevent events threatening to spiral into World War III.

At stake: an end to Western civilization as we know it. The result: an epic clash where science and the supernatural take center stage, vying for mankind’s destiny. The setting is global as the world divides into an East vs. West climactic battle. The action is swift, adrenaline-charged, and non-stop. Unending twists and turns will keep the reader turning pages and wanting more.

Together, Breakthrough, Opening, and Escalation follow the lives of the unlikely participants from innocence to a coming of age through sacrifice, betrayal, passion, lust, unconditional love, and hope. Escalation will appeal to fans of modern-day science fiction, action, and horror.

The Book: I hope to have everything wrapped up with the book by Halloween. Editing. Formatting. Uploading to Kindle and CreateSpace. I had planned for a Summer release but this has been a weird crazy year for me. So I’ll be really thankful just to finish the book.

I have to say Escalation is the crown jewel of the Breakthrough series. Many trilogies start with a bang then trail off as the story continues. But Escalation is going to be amazing!

And thanks to my editor Marvin Wilson who is helping turn this diamond in a rough into a polished gem of a book. Folks, it’s really going to rock!
I’ll have more insights into Escalation on Wednesday’s post!

Haunting October Celebration: Today I’m over at Yolanda Defending The Pen as part of her October BWAHAHAHA Halloween Interviews. I’m answering really fun questions like if I’m in a horror movie how would I die. I’ve never thought of that. But that’s what makes this so much fun. Thanks Yolanda for hosting me. I love this time of year. This is when the best Blogfests happen.

Angela Brown: author of Neverlove (Shadow Jumpers) had her first book signing and has an awesome setup. She has flyers, bookmarks, what appears to be grab bags, and a smile a mile wide. Congrats! Angela.

Writers4Writers: This month Alex Cavanaugh and Isis Rushdanare the writers we will promote.Check out the W4WS tab if you want to sign up and be promoted through this awesome group of writers and bloggers!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

ESCALATION Cover Release:I've been having a lot of fun on Facebook this week with Escalation promos. If you haven't seen them, stop by and check them out.

Celebrate The Small Things: Oh, I'm celebrating. I'm popping off the cork to an above average bottle of Merlot and celebrating big time! On Monday I'm revealing the cover art for ESCALATION, the third and final installment to the BREAKTHROUGH Trilogy.

Although I'm ecstatic the end is near and I survived this, that, and the other things to bring this trilogy to fruition and closure, I have a handful of other books outlined I want to finish and bring to market relatively quickly.

P.S. It's not too late to get on board for my Cover Release next week. Just email me at stephen.tremp@yahoo.com and I'll set you up.

Oh, One More Thing:(Bad Columbo imitation) Check out the Steve's and Other Fun Science Stuff by simply clicking Einstein's image at the top of my right side bar. I have a new article that is timely, interesting, and fun! Do it. Now! Just don't forget to come back and watch the Weekend Follies video.

Now, Enjoy the Weekend Follies! Okay, you're back. God. It's been a long hard week. Time to laugh and transition to the weekend. In keeping step with the theme for ESCALATION, here are a couple clips from the classic movie Airplane that started it all.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

IWSG: Time. I just don't have enough time to finish my book, work on the edits, and everything else. Let alone blog. Job. Family. Miscellaneous. But I have a bug push to finish by October 31st and really think I can do it!

Harry Potter Spin Offs: Warner Bros. has trademarked the titles of JK Rowling's fictional Quidditch teams and books in the series such as Tales Of Beedle The Bard, sparking rumors of more films. Reference

Reading the final paragraph of The Deathly Hallows was bitter sweet as, like everyone else, I did not want the series to end. But spinoffs offer unlimited possibilities.

• The Marauders: with Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs and the Marauders Map. What adventures they could have!

·Hermione becomes a dentist. Not so adventurous. But Emma Watson is hot!

Escalation Cover Art: Monday’s release is right around the corner. I’m happy to reach this milestone. Finally! And there is still time to help. Just email me at Stephen.tremp@yahoo.com if you want to join the fun.

Escalation Burb: Together,
Breakthrough, Opening, and Escalation follow the lives of the unlikely
participants from innocence to a coming of age through sacrifice, betrayal,
passion, lust, unconditional love, and hope. The action is swift. There are
numerous twists and turns that will keep the reader turning the pages and
wanting more.

ESCALATION
will appeal to fans of modern-day science fiction, action, and the element of
horror.

Did You Know: NASA is currently planning out an ambitious mission to snag a near-Earth asteroid and park it in a stable orbit around the moon, where it could be visited repeatedly by astronauts for scientific and exploration purposes. The asteroid will stay in this orbit for 100 years or so. Once finished with it and you and we have no further need of it, wesend it in to impact the moon. Reference

Not So Fun Fact: There are those who would take a much bolder approach and bring an asteroid into Earth’s orbit. Ummm … I think the moon is close enough. I don’t want an something to go wrong and have errant large asteroid crashing into Earth. Houston, we have a problem. Reference

Question: What's your IWSG for the month? Any Harry Potter spinoffs you can think of that you would really like to see?
Do you like the idea of capturing an asteroid and placing it in orbit so close to Earth?